


Ecliptic Orbit

by Jaina (effervescible)



Series: The Year Between [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Background Sea-Salt Family, Gen, complicated relationship, enemies by circumstance to allies to friends, everyone here needs therapy but heartfelt earnestness will have to do the trick for now, past trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:08:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22444606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/effervescible/pseuds/Jaina
Summary: Several months after the final confrontation in Scala ad Caelum, Riku has a question for Roxas. The asking and the answering are both more difficult than expected.Post-KH3, pre-Limit Cut episode, spoilers for both.
Relationships: Riku & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: The Year Between [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615084
Comments: 13
Kudos: 72





	Ecliptic Orbit

The citizens of Twilight Town have probably seen enough oddities to be unfazed by a visitor dropping out of the sky, but Riku make sure to park the Gummi ship on the roof of a tall building in the outskirts anyway. Less likely to be noticed and honestly, he enjoys the view for a brief period of time before he makes his way down to the streets. He tells himself that the tension in his shoulders is because being back in the town reminds him of the last time he spent much time here, when it felt like he carried the weight of the worlds on them, but he tries to be a little more self-aware these days. He knows he's nervous.

He's been putting this off for weeks, chasing down every other lead and half-baked idea that anyone's come up with, but it's time to square up and pursue this one. It's not the first time he's traveled to Twilight Town in order to track down a boy who doesn't know he's there, see what he's up to and get him to do something he might not want to do, but Riku hopes it goes better this time.

It's winter in this world, the climate temperate enough that the locals can bundle up and still enjoy the outdoors without miserable chills biting at every inch of exposed skin. Good thing, because he didn't stop to think about the calendar, and his jacket is sufficient here but wouldn't stand up to a jaunt in Arendelle. Strings of twinkly little lights are strung up on buildings, and there's some kind of festival coming up that's got everyone excited, judging by the sheer number of posters up on the walls.

It's early enough in the morning that the town is just coming alive, with people walking to work or stopping at the shops to get some fresh breakfast. Riku catches a few curious glances, but there's no suspicion from anyone who recognizes him as an outsider. The people of Twilight Town have always been pretty friendly. He cuts through the center of town, veering left at the Bistro.

Once or twice he checks the directions written down on a folded piece of paper before stuffing it back in his pocket. He'd gotten to know Twilight Town pretty well during the year Sora was asleep, but the address he's looking for is far off from the shadowy corners where darkness gathered and the Heartless manifested. These residential streets are aglow in morning light and quieter than the bustling avenues down the hill. The buildings stand close together, but in a way that puts him in mind of contented companionship rather than too many people trying to occupy the same space. It's easy to see why someone would want to make a home here.

Some of the buildings on this block have short staircases leading up to second-floor entrances, and Riku's got just enough time to peer at the number plate on one of them and think _this is the one_ before its front door flies open and a familiar figure dashes out, tossing a scarf around his neck and a quick farewell behind him at the same time.

"See you later, Isa!"

Roxas clatters down his front stairs like he's trying to end up literally head over heels, but somehow manages to stay upright and sprints right past him before doing a double take and skidding to a stop. The look on his face is priceless — Riku is tempted to pull his phone out and snap a photo, but he resists.

"Hey," he says, not even trying to hide his amused smile. "Are you running late?"

"Hey, Riku," Roxas says, shifting the messenger bag strap that's slipped down his shoulder so that it rests more securely. "No, I was — did I miss a message?" He starts to fumble with the bag's zipper, but Riku waves him off.

"No, no. I didn't decide to stop here until this morning. Figured I'd drop by and see if I could find you." He grins and glances up at the apartment door. "Are all of you living there? How's that going?"

"It's going," Roxas replies with only a brief hesitation. "Better than I would have expected a while ago, for sure."

"Must be a big change. Going from a giant castle to a cramped apartment."

Roxas laughs. "It's bigger than it looks from the outside — it goes back pretty far. And it's what we can afford."

"Huh." Munny for housing isn't something he's had to consider in — well, ever. "If you want more space, there's always the old mansion. From what I remember, it's in good shape underneath the dust."

Roxas' smile doesn't disappear, but something in his expression slips, and he looks away. "Nah. I don't go there," he says. "This place is fine for now."

Immediately, Riku wants to groan and then kick himself. Maybe let Roxas do it. Since he was restored, Roxas has shown himself to be far more understanding about what was done to him in the past, but there are limits to everything. Of course he doesn't want to live in the mansion.

"Anyway, I was hoping we could talk about something." He practically trips over his words in his rush to move away from that topic. "Are you busy?"

"Kinda. I have school — just a half day, so the clubs can use this afternoon to get ready for the festival. I'll ditch it if you need me, though."

Riku takes a moment to quietly marvel over the notion of Roxas doing normal things like going to school. "No, it's okay. I should have called. I can meet you after you're done."

"Okay, sounds good. I'll text you where to meet me."

"Sure. See you soon."

The part of Riku that tells himself to keep going, don't stop, don't rest for an instant until he's reached his goal, hates having to wait around for Roxas. The part of him that knows from experience that grinding himself to nothing won't actually help matters, and may actually make things worse, appreciates the break.

He passes the time exploring the town a little more. There's no movie festival going on in the back alcove at this time of year, but a temporary market full of vendors selling handmade goods, treats and more winter decorations has popped up in its place. He browses for little while before purchasing a couple of hair clips with crystalline decorations on them. One with a snowflake on it, for Naminé, and one in the shape of a flower, so he can give it to Kairi when she wakes up.

The next couple of hours are spent wandering wherever his feet take him. Eventually, it's to the front yard of the old mansion, despite his earlier gaffe. He stands there a while without going in, looking up at the lace curtains that hang in Naminé's old room and wondering if anyone but Sora and his friends have been inside since he, DiZ and Naminé abandoned the place. It might be a wreck now, but he knows that there's something solid and even beautiful underneath the layers of dust and time. Seems a shame to let it slowly decay instead of fixing it up. In the right hands, this place could really be something again.

Not his hands, though. There's no flicker of nostalgia, just a faint repulsion that makes him think he does understand what Roxas feels about the mansion and prompts him to turn away and head back through the woods. There could be some lesson here about how it's not as easy to go home as it should be, but he learned that one long ago, and this place was never a real home for him. That's somewhere else.

The text message from Roxas comes a little earlier than expected. He's on the right side of town this time, though, so he makes it to the suggested rendezvous point first and picks a small table in the back corner of Armando's Coffee. He waves to catch Roxas' attention when he bursts through the entrance, and raises an eyebrow when the barista greets him cheerfully and starts making a drink without waiting to hear Roxas' order. Clearly, he's a regular.

Roxas' demeanor as he approaches the table, drink in hand, isn't a mirror image of…well, his mirror images. He doesn't move with Sora's exuberance or smile with Ven's sunny cheerfulness. But Riku sees something in him now that he never saw all those months that he was keeping watch over Roxas. It's life, he guesses. Roxas actually gets to live one of his choosing now. That's got to make a difference. It looks good on him.

"How was school?" he asks, and it's to Roxas' credit that he doesn't make fun of him for asking such a _dad_ question. Then again, maybe he doesn't know; it's not like he's ever had one.

"Eh, fine." He shrugs. "I left before last period."

"Wow. You're making me feel like a bad influence on you."

"Please. You think I've never skipped class before today?"

Riku laughs. "Careful. Your teachers are going to think you're some kind of delinquent."

"Oh, some of them already do." There's no particular regret in his voice. "Mostly because of my grades, though. Not much of what Sora learned in school carried over when I was born, and the Organization didn't care about education." He shrugs again. "It's fine. I'm not here to be the best student. But going to school is what normal kids do, right?"

"Yeah," Riku says after a moment. It's been a long time since his own life could be called normal, and he mostly remembers resenting that it was. "And normal's what you wanted, right?"

He expects quick affirmation, but there's silence as Roxas gazes into his coffee.

"Roxas?" he prompts.

"It mostly was," he says after another few seconds. "It is. But not because…" He sighs. "I don't know if I can explain this right."

"Try," Riku says. "I mean, if you want to. You don't have to. But I don't mind listening."

The fact that Roxas doesn't immediately shut him down is itself pretty surprising. He doesn't know exactly where this is going, but it sounds like something pretty personal, and for all their shared history, he and Roxas have never really done personal. But he's the one who started this line of conversation, so he's not going to end it if talking is helpful to Roxas.

"I used to see the kids running around Twilight Town and get jealous of them. Not because I hated my daily routine — that _was_ my normal," Roxas finally continues. "Fighting Heartless came naturally, for obvious reasons, and I had Axel and Xion. But I guess....even before I knew how messed up things were in the Organization, I could feel it. And people with normal lives weren't stuck the way we were — they could relax and have fun with their friends whenever they wanted and choose what they'd do each day."

Put that way, he can see why the idea would be even more appealing to Roxas. Even the most mundane of days had to be a lot better than the kind of life offered by the Organization. "But…?"

"I'm _not_ normal, is the thing. Some of the things that make sense to Hayner, Pence and Olette are bizarre to me. Going where teachers tell you to go when they tell you to go, because you're afraid of getting in trouble? Like detention even matters?" He shakes his head. "I don't mind, it's how things work here, so I can go with it. And I get to be with my friends. Just...sometimes I wonder if I don't fit in enough, if there's more I should be doing. But it's not like I'm some hero, ready to go from world to world and help people with all of their problems."

 _It's not like he's Sora._ "You don't have to be," Riku says. "You didn't ask for the Keyblade. You're not obligated to use it selflessly. In fact, you've earned the right to be a little selfish. But for what it's worth, Roxas, you count as a hero in my book. You've already helped plenty of people."

Roxas stares at him, and Riku thinks he's gone too far, said too much, given input that wasn't needed — that Roxas just needed to get his own thoughts out, not hear what Riku thinks.

Then the stare relaxes into a smile, and Riku relaxes too.

"Thanks," Roxas said, and leaves it at that. The awkwardness passes, and so does whatever strange honesty that preceded it.

"So," Riku says, after wracking his brain for another, better topic, and this one isn't _much_ better but it's all that comes to mind. "How are things with Isa? Ienzo and Even told us about his part in what happened, but that seems like it could still be...fraught."

"It wouldn't have been my first choice." Roxas props his elbow on the table to rest his chin on his hand. "The bad blood between us was _really_ bad, almost as much as with Xemnas. But he's Axel's friend, and I know what it's like to lose a friend. I don't want any of us to lose any more."

"That's pretty generous of you."

"Well, you could say we got our feelings about what Saïx did out of our systems back in the Graveyard. And Isa _wants_ to be different. That's enough for me, for now."

"Fair enough."

Roxas nods, takes a long sip of his drink, and gives him a longer, more considering look. "So," he says. "Are you going to tell me why you came by? I doubt it was to check up on how I'm doing."

"No, it wasn't." He rests one hand flat against the tabletop. "It's about Sora."

Immediately, Roxas goes stiff, his shoulders tensing as he sits up straighter. "You've got bad news?"

"What? No. Not worse news, anyway." They both know that every lead to Sora's whereabouts that doesn't pan out is already bad, but at least a lack of progress doesn't change things from where they currently stand. At least they don't know that he's gone for good. None of them will believe that. 

"Okay…" Roxas' brow furrows. "What is it, then? If it were _good_ news, you would have told me already."

"I need to ask you something." Riku takes a breath. "Roxas...can you feel Sora?"

Roxas goes quiet. Riku waits without prompting him, and he's not sure if that's because he wants Roxas to have as long as he needs to come up with his answer, or if he's afraid of what the answer will be and wants to put it off as long as possible.

"I don't know," Roxas says at last, flattening one hand against the center of his chest. "I think I do. It's not that I can feel _where_ he is — you know that, we'd have found him already if it were that easy. But I don't feel an _absence_ , and if he were really gone for good, I would." He chews on his lip for a moment. "Except I don't know if that's true, or if it's what I want to be true."

"Yeah," Riku says, and tries not to feel as if Roxas has let him down. It's about what he expected, so he shouldn't be disappointed. "I get it."

"Ven and I have talked about it some. He feels the same way. We just have to keep believing."

"That sounds like something he'd say." The thought hurts and heals at the same time.

"He probably _did_ say that about something, sometime. Is what what you came here to ask me? I would have told you over the phone."

"No. There's more. You know what they're doing in Radiant Garden with Kairi, right?"

Roxas nods. "Ienzo told me. I don't think it's a good idea."

"Me either." Riku sighs. "Nothing good ever came from anyone sleeping their life away. But it's what she wanted. I couldn't tell her not to do it. But last time I went there to check up on her, the guys there and I started talking about what something else we could try. It's got to do with you and your memories."

Roxas gives him a long look, like he's putting two and two together and doesn't want the answer to be four. "What _about_ my memories?"

"They're connected to Sora. They always have been." Here goes nothing. "We thought if you let Ansem and the others examine them, we might find — "

"No!" The objection bursts out of Roxas like he can't contain it. "Are you crazy? I'm not letting him anywhere near my memories."

"He wouldn't do anything to them, Roxas. He helped you come back."

"I _know_. I was there." Shock is quickly giving way to anger in Roxas' voice, and Riku wishes he knew how to stop this from going so bad so fast. He'd known Roxas might not like the idea, had expected he'd need to offer reassurance, but the sheer intensity of his reaction has caught him off guard. "He was trying to make up for what he did. That doesn't mean I trust him getting into my head!"

"That's not exactly how it works," Riku says. "And it wouldn't just be him, it — "

"I don't care." Roxas' eyes show only firm resolve now, but for a split second, there's a flicker of something more behind it. Riku thinks it might be fear. "How can you even ask me this?"

"I wouldn't if it wasn't important." He searches for the words that will make this right, but nothing comes. "He just wants to help."

"Yeah. That's what he wanted before, wasn't it? To help Sora wake up. What happens if he gets into my memories and thinks messing with them is the right way to find him now?"

"He wouldn't. I wouldn't let him do that."

"You did before, didn't you?"

Silence hangs between them like a dead thing. He has no idea what to say to that, because there isn't anything he can say, not in his defense. Roxas is right. Riku had stepped aside and let Ansem manipulate his memories, and Roxas had paid the price for someone else's crime.

They haven't talked about what happened before Roxas returned to Sora. Riku hadn't specifically sought to avoid it, but stopping Xehanort from ending everything had been a lot more important right after Roxas' return, and then Sora had vanished. Bringing up the worst parts of their shared past had never seemed important enough, especially since Roxas had acted friendly to him. He'd thought they had a fresh start.

Roxas seems to decide no reply is forthcoming and shoves his chair back. "If that's all you wanted to ask about, I'm gonna go."

"Roxas — "

"Bye."

It would be a little much to say that Roxas stomps his way out of the coffee shop, but there's no mistaking the angry body language during his rapid exit. The girl at the counter pauses to watch him go as she steams some milk, then turns to Riku with a raised eyebrow. He smiles tightly until she looks away, then drops his gaze with a sigh.

Well, that was awful. He wonders if he can still count this as going better than before, since they didn't get into a physical fight, then decides that he can't.

Riku hangs out at the shop for another fifteen minutes or so, as if Roxas might inexplicably change his mind and come back. Or maybe he's just hoping that he'll get fewer questioning looks on the way out once other patrons have turned their attention to their own business. He should go back to the Gummi ship now, take it and head back to Radiant Garden to let them know that they'll have to cross this line of exploration off their list, but he continues today's pattern of probably bad decisions by sticking around Twilight Town.

He can't blame Roxas for his reaction. No matter how far he's come, how much happier he seems now, Riku guesses that some things will always be too raw. Moving forward doesn't mean the marks left behind by painful experiences have faded.

If Roxas draws a line at revisiting what they'd done to him in the virtual Twilight Town, he's entitled. They'd asked far too much of him as it is — no, demanded, because Roxas had never had the ability to say no. If he's saying it now, they have to respect it, no matter how much it burns something in him to turn away from something that could lead them to Sora.

He can let this go. But he can't leave without saying something more to Roxas, not when he's suddenly so unsure that leaving things unsaid up to now was a good idea.

Roxas' school is his first stop, although he doesn't have much faith that he'd have gone there. Xion confirms as much when he pulls her away from some float she's building with Olette and another girl he doesn't recognize. Riku tries to act like the tight knot of guilt in his stomach doesn't exist, but judging by the frown on Xion's, it hasn't worked. She's always been perceptive.

"Do you want me to come with you to find him?" she asks. "Together, I bet we can, even if he did leave his phone at home."

"No, it's okay. You stay here." He smiles, and if it feels a little forced, it's enough to ease the worry on her face. "There's just something I wanted to tell him before I leave."

"Okay," she says. "I'd say come have ice cream with us later, but we're going to be at this for at least a couple more hours. We've got to win the contest for best float design or we owe Hayner and Pence lunch at the Bistro."

He laughs and that, at least, is genuine. "They'll never know what hit them. Good luck, Xion."

Seeing with his own eyes that Xion, too, is living a better life helps to loosen the knot as he moves on. There's no sign of Roxas back at his apartment, and Riku counts himself lucky that only Isa is home when he knocks, and not Lea. The former Number Seven doesn't bother to hide the cool appraisal as he looks Riku up and down, and in return Riku doesn't hide the disquiet he feels. But Isa doesn't push for details, only says that Roxas isn't home and, as the boy doesn't make a habit of keeping him apprised of his intended comings and goings, he has no idea when that will change.

Strike two. He doesn't have any better luck with the secret place, the ball fields, or anywhere else that seems likely. Riku's half-considering going back to the apartment to camp out and wait for Roxas to come home, no matter what barrage of questions he might face from Lea, when he looks up at the clock tower and freezes in place.

He'd looked before, of course. Knowing how many hours Roxas had spent up there in the past, it was another obvious possibility, but he hadn't needed to physically go to the top — a glance was enough to see that no one was sitting there. Except now he is, a small figure with light hair and a dark blue coat. Wherever he's been since storming out of the coffee shop, Roxas has come back to the spot he knows best.

Riku doesn't go to him immediately. Doubling back the way he'd just walked, he makes a quick purchase before beelining to the tower's ground-level entrance, double-checking to make sure he still sees a pair of feet dangling far above. Thank goodness for elevators — he's got something he needs to say, and while battle and continued training have kept him fit, he's not sure he'd have the breath for it after climbing _that_ many stairs.

Roxas doesn't react when he steps out onto the platform. Riku moves forward, then stops, ready to let the other boy have the first word if he wants to, but he doesn't even twitch. After a moment, he continues forward to sit beside Roxas. Not too close but not too far — he could punch him on the arm if he tried, but only just. 

It's only when Riku pulls an ice cream bar out of his bag and holds it out that Roxas turns his head, an unreadable expression on his face. Seconds that feel like hours pass before he takes it. 

"Thanks."

"Sure." 

Riku pulls out the second bar (rock crunch for him) and they eat together for a few minutes. The view is pretty impressive, but he's not in much state to appreciate it.

"I looked for you," he says finally. "All over. You're pretty good at hiding."

"I wasn't hiding."

"Could have fooled me."

"I was fighting Heartless in the woods around the mansion." Roxas shrugs. "I didn't think you'd look there, but I wasn't hiding. You'd have found me if you checked."

"Huh." He stops to think about it and feels a little foolish. In retrospect, it does seem pretty obvious. "Wait, I was there this morning. I didn't see any Heartless."

"There aren't many these days," Roxas says. "Three Keyblade wielders, living here full time? The darkness can't keep up. But more tend to show up later in the day, when the shadows get longer. We don't let them spread."

"Oh. Nice work." 

Roxas nods and takes another bite of his ice cream. It's quiet again, but the air feels tense now, at least for Riku. He's the one who started talking, so is it up to him to keep up the momentum? Must be, and that's fair. He takes a breath. "Roxas, I'm — " 

"Sorry I freaked out at you before."

 _What?_ "What?" 

"I said, I'm sorry." He fiddles with the stick and what's left of the ice cream on it, and how did he eat so much of it so fast? "For before. I shouldn't have lost it like that." 

Riku stares, and then laughs faintly. "Seriously? I came up here to apologize to you." 

"Really?" 

"Of course. I know I can get pretty…focused, when it's about something important, but I should have considered what it would be like for you before I asked what I asked," he says, and looks him directly in the eye. Roxas needs to see that he means it. "I'm sorry, Roxas. For today, and for before, too. For everything." 

Roxas' expression shifts, but Riku still can't begin to guess what he's thinking. "Wow," he says. 

Riku inclines his head toward him. "Is it that surprising that I'd apologize?" 

"You never did before."

"No. I should have, but…" He shakes his head. "We had more life-threatening things to deal with right after you came back, and then you seemed like you were doing really well. I thought you might not want me to stir up bad memories. Or maybe it was just easier for me to believe that." He draws one knee up to his chest. "I figured if you did want to talk about it, you'd say something."

"Do you want to know why I never did?"

"Yeah." Riku considers for a moment. "Only if you want to tell me."

Roxas finishes the last of his ice cream and tosses the stick to the side. "I never asked if you were sorry because I thought the answer might be no."

"I…." That hurts, even though there's no reason it should. "Oh."

"You had a lot to deal with too, I know that now. Sora couldn't wake up without me, and I wasn't about to give up my life for someone I never even met. It was him or me, and the worlds needed him. And Sora's your best friend. So you picked him."

Every word stings. And every word is correct. "I never wanted that," he says. "I used to think Nobodies were just shadows, but by the time we met, I knew I was wrong. If Sora's memories had never been changed, I would never have come after you."

"I know." There's no visual change in Roxas, but Riku feels as though he hardly recognizes him. He's so calm now, a far cry from the enraged, grieving person Riku once fought on the rainy streets of the World That Never Was. "I know what it's like to lose a best friend, too. And what I'd give to get them back. But the real, real reason I never said anything to you is because I didn't know if you'd tell me you didn't regret it. That you'd do it again in a heartbeat. And it's over and done with, so what good would it do for you to say it or me to hear it?"

It's something he's thought about before, during long nights when he'd been left alone with nothing but his own thoughts, someone else's form and the certainty that he'd fallen too far to ever show his face. Even now that he knows there's no darkness so deep that the light can't reach it, it's uncomfortable to think about. If he could go back and do things differently, he might talk to Roxas instead of fight him, convince him to help bring Sora back instead of forcing him. Or maybe, faced with the same circumstances and the same terrible options, he'd do the same thing. Roxas might be right about that.

But he's not right about Riku's regret. That's always been there. It probably always will be.

"I understand," he says, and thinks maybe they should leave it at that. 

"The thing is…." Roxas seems to have more on his mind, though. "Even if you wouldn't change things, if you were able to...I don't know if I would, either."

Roxas is full of surprises today, but Riku's not sure he believes this one. "You can't be serious," he says, disbelief laced through his voice. "You got the short end of the stick, Roxas, in a lot of ways. It's okay to say so."

"Oh, I know that. Trust me." He leans back on his hands, lifting his face to catch more of the late afternoon light. "There are so many things I wish I had done differently, back when I didn't understand the Organization, or Xion, or myself. I hate what happened to us. If I could go back and change things, though, if we'd run away sooner, would destiny have eventually caught up anyway? Would any of us be here now?"

Riku lets out a sigh. "I don't know," he says, and means it. Xion's fate had seemingly been decided by the nature of her existence, and Roxas had so many people determined to use him. It seems impossible to imagine the two of them finding any way to live free. But they've both been part of Sora, who does the impossible all the time. "Maybe."

"Maybe. Maybe not," Roxas says. "What we lived through was terrible. But we got our lives back. Me and Xion and Axel, Ventus and Aqua and Terra, Naminé, even you...we're all here. And Sora's not."

Sora's not. In this moment, Riku has never felt his absence more acutely, like there's a hole in the world where there should be a third person up on this tower with them, even if sitting and having ice cream together is something the three of them have never done. Sora's the reason they're here, so Sora should be with them right now.

"Sometimes I forget he's gone," Riku says, curling in on himself a little, shoulders hunched. "Just for a few seconds, right after I wake up in the morning. Then I remember. That's the worst part."

He lifts his head when he feels Roxas' hand on his shoulder.

"I get it," Roxas says, and without asking why, Riku is sure that he does. "You know...back in the graveyard, before he set me free, Sora dove into my heart. I asked him to do something for me when we faced Xemnas. He didn't hesitate to say yes." He removes his hand and curls it into a fist, then lets it relax. "He didn't even ask what it was."

"That's Sora." As much as it hurts, Riku can't help but smile. "He didn't need to."

Roxas looks at him, then looks down at his home, spread out below them. He nods, as if he's come to some decision.

"It can't be Ansem," he says. "I know he tried to make up for what he did, I know he has no reason to hurt me now — but it can't be him. It's too much."

Riku lifts his head, comprehension dawning, then realizes Roxas is waiting for a response. "Okay," he says. "Yeah. Of course."

"Naminé can do it. Even and Ienzo too. And Ansem can help them if they need to make data out of them or something, it just can't be me and him directly." He shrugs. "I don't know how it works."

"I don't either," Riku said. "I just know that I'd do anything to bring him back. But I can't make the decision for you, Roxas. Not this time."

"You don't have to," he says. "It's made. Because I want him back, too. This time, maybe I can be the one to help him."

It's too soon. This could lead nowhere, and they'll be right back where they started. But he has to think otherwise, because if he doesn't, what's the point? Roxas has agreed to help, and maybe that _will_ help.

For now, Riku will let himself feel hope. With all his heart.

"I think it's going to take all of us to get him back. And we will," he says. "Roxas? Thank you."

"No problem," he says, and the smile Roxas gives him now is bright and broad, something he suspects only Axel and Xion have seen very often. It reminds him of Sora. For once, that doesn't hurt.

"Come on." Roxas hops up and reaches a hand out to him. "Let's get going. You can come to our place for dinner. Pizza tonight, so you're safe from all our cooking."

"Okay. Sounds good." Riku grasps his hand and lets Roxas haul him to his feet.

Roxas heads toward the door to the elevator, but Riku stops and looks back over the town, just for a moment. It really is beautiful. One day, they'll have to bring Sora back here.

"Riku, you coming?"

"Yeah!" He turns away and jogs toward his friend. "I'm with you."

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I thought to myself after Limit Cut. Roxas is willingly allowing his memories to be investigated for Sora's sake? That's a significant gesture, considering what was done to his memories in the past. Even if all involved are on good terms now, it's likely that some subjects will always remain sensitive. Then I did very little else until this was done.
> 
> I should note that I have immense sympathy for the choices Riku had to make during Days and early KH2, and even DiZ/Ansem is all the more interesting for being a good man who did some horrific things and then sought to make amends. But forgiveness can be a process, and a happy ending doesn't erase the damage done along the way. I'm very happy that Roxas and Riku both seem to be in much healthier places post-KH3, even with Sora's absence affecting them, but it makes sense to me that they might struggle with the aftermath of their own choices and the choices of others, even if they wouldn't make different ones given the opportunity. I like to think that these and other characters did have some heartfelt talks between cutscenes, but we can also write fic to fill in those blanks.


End file.
